Luckily, I am completely unmotivated to finish my probability & statistics homework due today, so I'll share mine .

I was diagnosed after a suicide attempt back when I was 19. I took Depakote for a while, but when I felt better I stopped.

Fast forward about 4.5 years. My now ex wife was under the impression that I was a sociopath. I would go through these fits of rage and be totally depressed after. She wouldn't accept the fact that I might carry any other mental diseases. Her parents believed that there is no such thing as a mental disorder, that you can just push through anything.

Needless to say, I visited psychiatrists many times over those 4.5 years. Every time one would ask me about bipolar, I'd tell them to f*** off. As such, they gave me everything from anxiety medication to ADHD medication (trying to help symptoms).

Back in March, a particularly strong manic phase hit me. I decided that I was too good for my wife. She always put me down about forgetting things, feeling up or down, fighting, etc. So I left. I felt great; I was free. I quickly found a better relationship and moved forward with my life. I was very confident.

Of course, being alone meant depression and I ended up in a mixed state that pretty much screwed up a new relationship I had started, so I moved to go to graduate school spontaneously. Being even more alone meant more depression.

I finally decided, after being scared of how low I felt, to go see a psychiatrist in the area. I decided to not tell her to f*** off and that I actually wanted to change my life. Now I'm here, titrating up my Lamictal.

-B